CHAPTER TWENTY: SLEIGHT OF HAND

The nurse's office was way too quiet when I walked in.

 Inego was on a bed, his uniform coat lying beside him. A bandage covered his neck. His face was pale, but his breathing was steady.

 He was asleep.

 Violet-eyes sat beside him, arms crossed tight, her nails digging into her sleeves.

 Her entire posture screamed possessive. Not just watching over him—guarding him, making sure no one got close.

 "Don't touch him. He's mine!" I remembered her saying.

 Shion was in the next room.

 On a separate bed.

 Alone.

 She wasn't restrained.

 She wasn't talking.

 She wasn't moving.

 Just sitting there, her head turned toward the window, her eyes unfocused.

 I took a breath. Stepped forward.

 The nurse, an older woman with a hunched back and heavy-lidded eyes, glanced at me over her glasses.

 "She's stable. So is he. But they both need rest."

 She croaked, her voice dry and inhuman.

 Calm. Detached. I could tell she was watching everything.

 She was a good nurse.

 Inego let out a small, pained groan.

 Violet-eyes immediately turned to him, her hand gently brushed his forehead, her face softened for just a second before snapping back to its usual scowl.

 "You shouldn't be moving, darling."

 Inego squinted at me, his lips parted like he wanted to say something.

 Wand.

 He mouthed to me. A silent plea for help.

 His eyes darted to the violet-eyed girl beside him.

 And something in his face changed.

 Fear.

 I nodded to Inego.

 I'd get his wand, but I needed to check on Shion first.

 She was sitting on the edge of the bed, staring out the window.

 Her fingers twitched. Slow. Deliberate. Like she was holding onto something invisible.

 She only paused for a second before continuing. Her way of acknowledging my presence.

 "Shion?"

 Nothing.

 "Are you—"

 "I'm fine."

 Her voice was flat. Too even. Too controlled.

 "Are you, though?"

 She turned slowly, blinked once. "I said I'm fine."

 Same tone. Same hollow response.

 Like she was rehearsing it for herself.

 I hovered at the doorway for a moment, afraid to go in.

 No. That was selfish.

 I was ashamed of myself. I took a step forward into her room.

 And her fingers froze just inches above the bed.

 Now what?

 "Inego—" I said.

 She flinched at his name.

 "…he needs me to go to his room to grab his wand. I'll be back in a few."

 I turned to leave.

 "No."

 She got up.

 "I'm coming with you."

 As soon as we stepped into the main room with Inego, Violet-Eye's voice cut through the air like a whip.

 "YOU."

 The way Shion's hair hung flat over her face told me she was in no mood.

 "You nearly drained him!"

 Shion did that thing where she stood perfectly still.

 Her fingers stopped twitching, and she turned her head with an unnerving, robotic smoothness.

 Only a second or two passed, but the weight in the room seemed to hang overhead like a planet.

 "…I left some for you," Shion spat.

 Her nails pressed into her palms. For a second, I thought she might turn, might say something else. But then she just walked.

 Straight out of the room.

 I barely had time to follow.

 "Shion… that was golden," said Yuki as she floated by my side.

 Shion said nothing.

 Shion walked ahead, unblinking, unshaken.

 I had to jog to keep up.

 And for the first time, a thought pushed in where I didn't want it.

 If I hadn't been there… would Inego still be alive?

 I shoved it down. Now wasn't the time.

 And I already knew.

 The boys' dorms were across from the Black Hall.

 But when we got there, Inego's room had already been moved.

 "Oh, that makes sense," said Yuki. "They would have moved him to a different room so that Shion –"

 "Now what the hell are we going to do, Blondie?" Shion interrupted.

 I sighed.

 First we'd have to find Inego's new room and then we'd have to spend hours searching through his stuff trying to find his wand.

 And I didn't even know what that girl wanted with him in the first place.

 "We can't just search room to room…" Then I turned toward Yuki.

 "Yuki, I need your help," I said.

 I could barely see it, but her eyes lit up.

 "Really? You need my help?" she asked.

 She was so happy that we needed her, she floated in a circle.

 "Oh, okay, Ryu! What do you need me to do?"

 "Oh my god…" I heard Shion mutter.

 "Yuki, float through the walls. Try to find a room where there's nothing unpacked. I bet they just boxed his stuff up, brought it to a new room, and dropped it."

 "I can do that! Thank you, Ryu! I'll be back."

 And with that, she floated through the wall towards the boys dorms.

 I looked over at Shion.

 Her dead, waterless eyes were as unreadable as ever. And she was standing perfectly still again.

 Never a good sign.

 "Shion, are –"

 "Am I ever?" she interrupted.

 Then she uncharacteristically blinked.

 "…sorry," she said.

 I felt a chill run down my spine when she apologized.

 "I'm not used to having people be concerned about me and…"

 Her voice strained. Slightly.

 "…I hate it. It's… embarrassing," she hissed.

 I had no idea what I was supposed to say to her.

 But I needed to say something. I couldn't just leave her standing there like that.

 "It wasn't your fault," I said.

 She looked at me, head tilted slightly.

 "It was Inego. He didn't realize what he was doing, and that was out of line from him anyway. I mean, he'd just met you and was already inviting you back to his room. What was -"

 "Oh." She smiled like she just solved a riddle. "You're jealous."

 She cut me off again. Damn her.

 No I wasn't.

 I think.

 "Did you really just send your ghost girlfriend to look through a bunch of guys' dorm rooms?"

 Shion crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow at me sharply.

 "You've just turned Yuki into a Peeping Tom," she said.

 "And you just called her by her name."

 She opened her mouth.

 Closed it.

 Her shoulders tensed, like she wanted to argue—but she had nothing.

 I could feel the attitude radiating off of her.

 A few minutes later, Yuki floated back through the wall, beaming.

 "I found it! I found it!" she chirped, spinning in the air like a kid who just got a gold star.

 Shion and I exchanged a look.

 "Where?" I asked.

 "It's on his desk! Just sitting there! All we have to do is go in and grab it," Yuki said, practically vibrating with excitement.

 Yuki led us through the stairwell to Inego's room on the second floor.

 Shion cocked a skeptical eyebrow. "Oh great. That's so easy. Let's just waltz right in and—"

 I checked the door.

 Locked.

 Shion crossed her arms. "You got any other bright ideas?"

 I let out a breath. "Alright. New plan."

 We turned to leave, but before we could step outside, we passed the commons room—and there, sitting on the couch, was Namazu.

 The kappa. The one I had, somehow, not ended up fighting to the death in front of the entire school.

 He looked up, blinking slow and lazy, before grinning. "Oh. Hey, Ryu-san! I didn't think you were staying in the dorms. Why are you doing here?"

 "Hey, Namazu. I'm trying to help my friend, Inego. He's in the nurse's office, but he forgot his wand. I need to get into his room."

 I saw a look of recognition flash across the kappa's broad face.

 "The English guy? Yeah. I had to help carry some of his stuff to his new room. You're really lucky. Just finished a few minutes ago. The resident assistant should still be around here somewhere."

 He looked up and saw Shion.

 "You're trying to help the guy, right?" he asked me.

 "Yeah… he gave me some advice and I owe him."

 "What about her?"

 Shion scowled and almost turned away, but she caught herself and stopped.

 "I'm… I'm just trying to make amends."

 He got up from the couch.

 "I tell you what. I can find him for you. Give me a minute."

 A few minutes later, we had the wand.

 It sat in Shion's grip.

 Light brown wood. Pink hues

 Cherry blossom. Cool to the touch.

 She turned it once between her fingers, considering it.

 "I hate magic. This thing feels like it's squirming in my hand." she muttered. "It makes my skin crawl. Can we just ditch it?"

 I shot her a look.

 She sighed. "Fine. Whatever. Let's go."

 We were halfway to the nurse's office when we saw Azuki.

 She was walking towards the Black-Withers Hall, the main building on campus, her usual bouncy energy barely restrained. She spotted us and perked up.

 "Heyyy! What are you three up to?" she asked.

 "Azuki! Hello!" said Yuki, glad that someone said hello.

 "We're headed to go see Inego," Shion spoke over Yuki.

 Azuki grinned and pushed her glasses back on the ridge of her nose. "Me too! Apparently I have to wait until night to go dance with the other tanuki in the moonlight."

 That gave me an idea.

 I held up the wand. "Inego needs this. Think you can get it to him without the girl with the crazy eyes noticing?"

 Azuki gasped. Her smile stretched across her face and her eyes grew wide. "Ryu! Do you need me to do a favor for you?"

 I heard Shion draw a breath just so she could scoff.

 "Yes, Azuki. This is very important."

 I cast a glance back at Shion.

 "We can't go back in the nurse's office though. That girl with the purple eyes is a problem. Think you can slip this to Inego without her noticing?"

 Azuki bit her low lip and nodded. "Ryu, do even know who you're talking to? I am a master of subterfuge."

 Shion snorted. "Alright, Master of Subterfuge, don't get caught."

 Azuki huffed. "Pfft. Please. Inego won't even know how he got it back. She won't see a thing."

 I handed her the wand, and she tucked it into her sleeve with a dramatic flourish, then bowed.

 "You can count on me, Ryu," she said solemnly.

 We watched as she bounced towards the nurse's office.

 I raised an eyebrow. "You think he'll get the wand?"

 Shion waved a hand dismissively. "Oh, he's doomed." Shion was already walking ahead.

 And then—she laughed for the first time that day.

 I wasn't sure if it made me feel better or worse.